Slide 97 of 99
Notes:
Like Europe, the National Space Development Agency had big plans to develop a large carrier rocket and manned “H2 Orbiting Plane” (HOPE). These illustrations from 1986-87 show the final, manned follow-on version planned for the early 21st century. It would carry a crew of four astronauts.
The HOPE development plan as it appeared in the late 1990s. Important elements besides HOPE include OREX to demonstrate thermal protection and atmospheric reentry systems, ALFLEX to test the HOPE-X low-speed aerodynamic and landing systems, and HYFLEX to demonstrate hypersonic flight. The end goal is a fully reusable aerospace plane / space transportation system.
